Visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field

ABSTRACT

The invention generally relates to a system and method of providing visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field. The system and method expand participation by combining the advantages of simulated display having virtual targets with a physical field of play having visual aids to help a player estimate the height and position of the virtual target on the physical field of play.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 63/370,762 filed Aug. 8, 2022, and incorporatesby reference the provisional application in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to visual aids for integrating physicaland virtual targets on a sports field.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, hybrid activities involving some, but not all, of the physicalgameplay field associated with the original sport have evolved. Thetraditional “driving range” practice area for golf has been enhanced tooffer games using actual golf balls and golf clubs. Passive and activetracking systems accurately report the golf ball's position, enablingautomated scoring of the game or activity, reducing the activity'sburden on the user, and thus increasing the activity's appeal andentertainment value.

Special care must be taken to enable the software to accuratelycorrelate the user's view in the simulation with the user's view of theactual playing field. The most significant shortfall comes from verticalreference points. While distances are easy to understand, the relativeheight of game elements has no corresponding mark or markers that allowthe player(s) to judge where to place a shot to hit a target that is notat ground level. The invention provides an approach to provide referencepoints in and around the physical field of play that corresponds tomarkers in the virtualized game or environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide visual aidsfor integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field, such asa golf range at a sporting and entertainment facility. The invention isan intuitive system and method of visual aids that allow a virtual gameelement's characteristics, such as size, height, and position, to berepresented on a physical range surface at a sporting and entertainmentfacility.

In general, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a system forintegrating virtual targets on a sports field is disclosed, where thesystem includes a plurality of bay stations, a range extending from thebay stations, and a range visualization system. A display is positionedin each of the bay stations and is configured to show a gameplayenvironment. The range includes a shared field of play of each of thebay stations and a plurality of visual aids, where the visual aidsprovide reference points for the shared field of play. The rangevisualization system is configured to visualize a virtual target in thegameplay environment, and a characteristic of the visual target ispresented on the shared field of play by corresponding visual aids.

In one embodiment, the characteristic of the virtual target is a size, aheight, a position, or a combination thereof of the virtual target.

In one embodiment, each of the visual aids is positioned above theshared field of play at one of a plurality of height intervals.

In one embodiment, each of the visual aids is positioned on a supportpole or a segment of netting.

In one embodiment, the plurality of visual aids is represented in thegameplay environment by a plurality of virtual markers.

In one embodiment, the visual markers comprise a line intersecting thevirtual target.

In one embodiment, each of the virtual markers has a color, a pattern, awidth, or a combination thereof matching that of the correspondingvisual aid.

In one embodiment, the gameplay environment mirrors the shared field ofplay.

In one embodiment, the gameplay environment is completely virtualized.

In one embodiment, the range further comprises a physical target locatedon the shared field of play.

In one embodiment, the physical target provides a reference point withinthe shared field of play for the virtual target.

In one embodiment, all or a portion of the physical target is mobile.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configuredto visualize the physical target as the virtual target.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configuredto visualize a second virtual target.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configuredto visualize a third virtual target.

In general, in a second aspect, the invention relates to a method forintegrating virtual targets on a sports field is disclosed. The methodincludes the steps of positioning a plurality of visual aids about afield of play and mapping the visual aids as a plurality of virtualmarkers within a gameplay environment. The method further involvesmapping a virtual target within the gameplay environment, where aposition of the virtual target is represented on the shared field ofplay by corresponding visual aids. The steps of mapping are accomplishedusing a range visualization system. The method also includes the step ofshowing the virtual target and the virtual markers in the gameplayenvironment using a display.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of altering anappearance for each of the virtual markers when the corresponding visualaids do not represent the position of the virtual target.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of removing all or someof the plurality of virtual markers from the gameplay environment basedon an input on the display.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of generating, using acomputer, a recommended flight path of a ball over the field of play toreach a physical position within the range that corresponds to thevirtual target within the gameplay environment.

In one embodiment, the method includes updating a player scorecard onthe display when a ball reaches the position of the virtual target asrepresented on the shared field of play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention may be moreclearly seen when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawingwherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a golf andentertainment facility having a dynamic, interactive range surface and adynamic, interactive end-of-range display positioned behind a terminalnet in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the inventiondisclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the golf and entertainmentfacility shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a top plan of view of an example of an interactive rangesurface at a golf and entertainment facility in accordance with anillustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 of the golf andentertainment facility shown in FIG. 3 having interactive range sidesurfaces or walls with one or more side projectors and/or sensors.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example of a physical playing fieldhaving visual aids in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of theinvention disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of a virtual gameplay thatmimics an interactive range surface at a golf and entertainment facilityin accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosedherein.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a virtual gameplay havinga virtual target and visual aids in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a virtual environment havinga purely virtual target and virtual targets that correspond to physicaltargets in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the inventiondisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be describedhereinafter in detail, some specific embodiments of the instantinvention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosureis to be considered an exemplification of the principles of theinvention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specificembodiments or algorithms so described.

The invention generally relates to visual aids for integrating physicaland virtual targets on a sports field. The invention is an intuitivesystem and method of visual aids that allow a characteristic of avirtual game element, such as its size, height, and position, to berepresented on a physical range surface at a sporting and entertainmentfacility. In particular, the inventive system and method provide avisual, auditory, and/or physical aid for marking heights on physicaltargets in and around the range surface with corresponding markerspresent in the virtual space, i.e., in the game. The visual aids may bephysical height markers implemented using visual lines or planesdemonstrating the same color or pattern, emphasizing the lines thatintersect the virtual targets at varying heights. For example, at night,an extremely bright beam of light or translucent plane could be used inthe physical environment to provide detail and context for the player todetermine the location of the virtual target in the physical field ofplay at the sporting and entertainment facility. The inventive visualaids create a link between existing physical objects or targets in andaround the field of play with the virtual targets at varying heights.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings, wherein like numerals ofreference designate like elements throughout the several views, each baystation 100 in a golf and entertainment facility 10 is positioned behinda physical range surface 102 for gameplay. Each bay station 100 containsa striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104, a ball dispenser (not shown),a game display(s) 108, and/or an in-bay sensor system 110. The balldispenser 106 is an in-bay ball storage device that dispenses balls atthe user's request. The ball dispenser 106 can include a ball reader(not shown) configured to dispense the ball directly to the striking,hitting, or throwing zone 104 or into an auto-tee (not shown) in the baystation 100. The ball reader can include one or more sensors that read aunique identifier via Bluetooth, RFID, visual inspection, or the like ofthe ball. The in-bay sensor system 110 provides striking/hitting-impactor throwing trigger event and initial launch parameters—ball speed,vertical angle, horizontal angle, and impact timestamp. The in-baysensor system 110 may provide measured or estimated ball spin data andtrajectory information. Depending on the configuration, the in-baysensor system 110 may be positioned in the striking, hitting, orthrowing zone 104, above the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104, orbehind the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104 of the bay station100.

During usage, the user will select a game or activity on the display 108(e.g., heads-up display, touchscreen, or the like) located in the baystation 100. In addition to game or activity selection, the display 108shows individual player views, shots/balls in flight, recommended nextshot/action, virtual gameplay environment, etc. A range visualizationsystem loads the specific game or activity desired by the user. The ballwill be dispensed from the ball dispenser 106 to the striking, hitting,or throwing zone 104 in the bay station 100. When the ball isdistributed to the user, the user will strike, hit or throw the ball tocomplete an objective of the game, sport, or activity. The ball's travelpath (or lack thereof) will be tracked by the in-bay sensor system 110and/or a range sensor system 112.

The range sensor system 112 can be positioned in the bay station 100,integrated into or on the ball, on the range surface 102, integratedinto the range surface 102, and/or around the range surface 102. Therange sensor system 112 can measure shots by fusing multiple overlappingsensor data streams into a three-dimensional volume representing therange surface 102. After trigger events, flight trajectory data isavailable immediately (˜hundreds of milliseconds). The range sensorsystem 112 is configured to simultaneously measure 100+ trajectoriesfrom each bay station 100 in real-time. The range sensor system 112 caninclude multi-sensor radars, multi-camera vision, ground impact sensors,and/or a fusion of multiple sensor systems.

The physical range surface 102 extends from in front of the bay stations100 and is bounded by a protective netting 114, and, optionally, anend-of-range dynamic and interactive display 116. The range surface 102provides a shared field of play for each of the bay stations 100. Theinventive system and method include any hardware required to display aflight path over the range surface 102, contact with the range surface102 upon landing, and/or the continued flight path of the ball after theball hits the netting 114 or the end-of-range display 116. The rangesurface 102 is the terrain portion of the range, which may contain oneor more physical targets 118 and is enclosed by the netting 114.

The physical targets 118 are structures on the range surface 102, thenetting 114 or elsewhere that may be electronically mapped as virtualtargets 126 in the range visualization system. In one embodiment, eachsegment of the netting 114 is assigned to a distance-by-height block toenable their use as the physical targets 118. All or a portion of thephysical targets 118 can be stationary or mobile, and the physicaltargets 118 can include a ball reader for tracking shots. Support poles120 at the range can include a series of controllable visual aids 122,and the range can also include at least one interactive range sidesurfaces or walls 124 intermediate of the poles 120 in order to extendseparate or complementary virtual targets 126 or effects from the rangesurface 102. In one embodiment, the support poles 122 are marked “L” forleft and “R” for right relative to the bay stations 100, and the supportpoles 122 are also numbered based on their distance from the baystations 100 (e.g., “1” for the first group of poles distanced closestto the bay stations, “2” for the second group of poles distanced furtherfrom the bay stations, “3” for the third group of poles distanced yetfurther from the bay stations, etc.). In other embodiments, the visualaids 122 can be alternatively or additionally mounted on a segment ofthe netting 114. The visual aids 122 provide reference points in andaround the range surface 102 regarding height, position, and/or distancefrom the bay station 100. In various non-limiting embodiments, thevisual aids 122 are visually augmented with physically visible media,including but not limited to colored markings, colored bands, bands ofvarying widths, blinking lights, and laser beams. The visual aids 122could be, for example, a colored light or pattern or, as depicted inFIG. 3 , an extremely bright beam of light that extends across the rangesurface 102.

In various embodiments, the visual aids 124 are each mounted to thepoles 120 at one of numerous height intervals relative to the rangesurface 102. By way of non-limiting example, the visual aids 124 may bemounted at heights of 32 feet, 64 feet, 96 feet, etc. Suitable mountingheights in another non-limiting embodiment are 30 feet, 60 feet, 90feet, etc. It will be appreciated that different quantities of heightintervals may be suitable in various embodiments, as well as differentdistances between the intervals. Each height interval may be eitherunlabeled or physically labeled. In some instances, each visual aid 124is color-coded according to either the pole 120 upon which it is mountedor based on the relevant height interval.

Turning to FIG. 5 , the depicted range surface 102 includes severalphysical targets 118 and poles 120, upon which are mounted visual aids124. In this exemplary embodiment, the visual aids 124 of each pole 120are mounted at one of three height intervals, and the number of bandsfor each visual aid 124 signifies which height interval it is placed at.The visual aids 124 are further color-coded to match the visual aids 124on a corresponding pole 120 positioned directly across the range surface120.

The range visualization system is configured to visualize game modes,scoring data, a virtualized gameplay environment, physical targets(mapped to virtual), purely virtual targets, range visualization andstate, and physics simulation for the game display 108. The gameplayenvironment can mirror the range surface 102 or can be a completelyvirtualized environment. In some embodiments, virtual targets 126 are avirtual representation of the physical targets 118 within the virtualgameplay environment 602. In other embodiments, the range visualizationsystem visualizes the physical targets 118 separately but at the sameposition within the virtual gameplay environment 602 as the virtualtargets 126, as demonstrated in FIGS. 6 through 7 . It will further beappreciated that the virtual targets 126 can exist without requiring acorresponding physical target 118 on the range surface 102 (pure virtualtarget). Where physical target(s) 118 are present, the position of eachphysical target 118 provides a physical reference point for thecorresponding virtual target(s) 126 within the shared field of play. Insome embodiments, the physical target 118 may be removed from thevirtual gameplay environment 602, either automatically or based on aninput from a user on the display 108 (e.g., an on-off toggle). The viewof the gameplay environment 602 on the display 108 may also be rotatedbased on the user's input. One virtual target 126 may be displayed at atime, or multiple virtual targets 126 may be displayed simultaneously.At various points during gameplay, the range visualization system may beconfigured to visualize a second virtual target, a third virtual target,a fourth target, etc., in sequence or at the same time.

In one embodiment, the physical targets 118 on the range surface 102 areeach given a different color (e.g., pink, green, blue). The virtualtarget 126 is placed atop one of these physical targets 118 (e.g., theblue target) at the virtual position where the physical target 118 hasbeen mapped into the gameplay environment 602. The virtual target 126may have the same color as the physical target 118 (e.g., blue), and theheight of the virtual target 126 may be provided (e.g., in feet).

During use, when a ball is hit, thrown, or struck by a player from oneof the bay stations 100, the in-bay sensor system 110 detects a triggerevent (t), and the ball flight coordinates of the ball as it flies overthe range surface 102 are detected by the range sensor system 112. Therange visualization system aggregates gameplay parameters, trigger eventdata and ball flight coordinates from each of the sensor systems (e.g.,in-bay sensor system 110 and range sensor system 112) for each of thebay stations 100. The in-bay display 108 shows the virtual gameplayenvironment. The range views are synchronized by the range visualizationsystem so that events being seen down the range surface 102 aredisplayed virtually in the bay station 100. The visual aids 124 mountedto the poles 120 allow the user to gauge a height and/or a distance ofthe virtual target 126 (shown on the display within the virtualenvironment) in relation to the physical gameplay surface 102 in orderto try to accurately launch (e.g., hit, throw, or strike) the ball fromone of the bay station 100. The ball successfully “hits” the virtualtarget 126, as represented in FIG. 4 , when it reaches the physicallocation on the field of play corresponding to the virtual target 126.The range visualization system may also generate a recommended flightpath of the ball to reach the physical location that corresponds to thevirtual target 126. The recommended flight path can be tailored toaccount for the type of ball launched, the implement (e.g., club) used,and a combination of distance (x), left-right) and vertical spacesbetween the bay station 100 and the virtual target 126.

In some instances, the range visualization system is further configuredto visualize the visual aids 124 within the virtual environment. Asshown in FIG. 6 , the visual aids 124 are displayed as virtual markers600 having positions in relation to the virtual environment 602equivalent to positions of the visual aids 124 in relation to the rangesurface 102 in FIG. 5 . The virtual markers 600 can have colors,patterns, widths, shapes, and/or sizes matching those of thecorresponding visual aids 124. In another embodiment, the virtualmarkers 600 are the same color as the closest physical target 118. Thevirtual markers 600 may provide lines (e.g., beams of light or color) ortranslucent plane 700 that cross the virtual environment 602 to providefurther detail and context for the location of the virtual target 126within the virtual environment 602. One or more of these lines 700 mayintersect the virtual target 126. Similar beams of light or planes canbe provided by the visual aids 124 to indicate the location of thevirtual target 126 in the physical field of play at the sporting andentertainment facility 10.

Certain virtual markers 600 may not be relevant to a game because thecorresponding visual aids 124 are not used to represent the location ofthe virtual target 126 on the field of play. In some instances, theappearance of these irrelevant virtual markers 600 can be altered.Available alterations may include fading out the markers 600, placingthem within a shadow, and changing the line strength, color, or patternof the markers 600. In some embodiments, all or some of the markers 600may be removed from the virtual environment 602. Alterations to theappearance of the markers 600 may be either automatic or based on aninput from the user on the display 108 (e.g., an on-off toggle).

Turning now to FIG. 8 , depicted therein is a preferred virtual gameplayenvironment 800 for playing a game wherein a virtual target 802 extendsabove the physical targets 118 that have been mapped into the virtualenvironment 800. The virtual environment 800 is shown on the display804. The virtual environment 800 shown in FIG. 8 includes one or morevirtual targets 802, such as a castle, at varying virtual heights. Thevirtual position/height of the targets 802 is represented as a physicalposition/height on the range surface 120 by corresponding visual aids122. A distance guide 806 may also be shown on the display 804. Thedistance guide 806 indicates a distance of the virtual target 802 fromthe bay stations 100 (e.g., 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards). In oneembodiment, distance (x) and left-right (y) values are also shown torepresent the position of the virtual target 802 relative to the baystations 100. Although not depicted in FIG. 8 , it will be understoodthat the gameplay environment 800 may also include an in-bounds andout-of-bounds area, which may change size based on the player's skilllevel.

The virtual targets 802 are selected randomly from a pre-determinednumber of shapes and sizes and are then assigned to various physicaltargets 118 within the virtual gameplay environment 800. One or moreplayers may take turns trying to hit a particular feature 808, such as awindow or other object, on the virtual target 802. Games that benefitfrom the virtual environment 800 include a virtual building 802 withwindow(s) 808 that a golf ball must knock out. The players may takenumerous turns attempting to hit the most windows 808 (i.e., bylaunching a golf ball at a physical position/height on the range surface120 corresponding to the virtual position/height of the features 808).The player scorecard 810 shows when the player has hit a window 808 onthe virtual target 802 during that player's turns. The player scorecard810 may also indicate when the player has missed. After all the playershave made the set number of attempts, the system calculates the numberof windows 808 each player knocked out and then announces the winner tobe the player with the highest score. Additionally, if there is a tie,the tied players may be allowed to take another turn to attempt to hitadditional windows 808 on the virtual playing field 800. In anotherembodiment, the size of the window 808 within the virtual target 802 canbe sized such that a player of higher skill is more likely to have asmaller window, while a player of lower skill is more likely to have alarger window.

Although FIGS. 4 through 8 display a specific game relating to a castle,it will be understood that a variety of shapes or structures could bedisplayed and played based on the games available in the computersystem, including a house, a spaceship, a boat, and numerous otheroptions. Further, it is understood that a variety of features could bedisplayed on the virtual target based on the games available in thecomputer system, including windows, shooting targets, soldiers, aliens,and numerous other options. Moreover, while the range and the field ofthe play are illustrated herein as a driving range configured for golf,it will be understood that the system and method can be configured for avariety of rules, formats, and gameplay environments and sports, such asgolf, soccer (goal kicks, shootouts), football (field goals, throws),basketball, shooting and/or arcade games, etc. Multiple types of sportscould be combined into a single game (e.g., skeet shooting at golf ballshit from other bay stations).

The description of the invention is intended to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of theentire written description of this invention. In the description,relative terms such as “front,” “rear,” “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,”“vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as wellas derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly”etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then describedor as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms arefor convenience of description and do not require that the machine beconstructed or the process to be operated in a particular orientation.Terms, such as “connected,” “connecting,” “attached,” “attaching,”“join” and “joining” are used interchangeably and refer to one structureor surface being secured to another structure or surface or integrallyfabricated in one piece.

As noted above, the apparatus for digitalized fleshing scoremeasurements may be further implemented in connection with a computersystem using hardware, software, firmware, tangible computer-readablemedia having instructions stored thereon, or a combination thereof andmay be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processingsystems.

If programmable logic is used, such logic may execute on a commerciallyavailable processing platform or a special-purpose device. One ofordinary skill in the art may appreciate that embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter can be practiced with various computer systemconfigurations, including multi-core multi-processor systems,minicomputers, mainframe computers, computers linked or clustered withdistributed functions, as well as pervasive or miniature computers thatmay be embedded into virtually any device.

For instance, at least one processor device and a memory may be used toimplement the above-described embodiments. A processor device may be asingle processor, a plurality of processors, or combinations thereof.Processor devices may have one or more processor “cores.”

Various embodiments of the inventions may be implemented in terms ofthis example computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implementone or more of the inventions using other computer systems and/orcomputer architectures. Although operations may be described as asequential process, some of the operations may be performed in parallel,concurrently, and/or in a distributed environment and with program codestored locally or remotely for access by single or multi-processormachines. In addition, in some embodiments, the order of operations maybe rearranged without departing from the spirit of the disclosed subjectmatter.

The processor device may be a special-purpose or a general-purposeprocessor device or maybe a cloud service wherein the processor devicemay reside in the cloud. As will be appreciated by persons skilled inthe relevant art, the processor device may also be a single processor ina multi-core/multi-processor system, such system operating alone or in acluster of computing devices operating in a cluster or server farm. Theprocessor device is connected to a communication infrastructure, forexample, a bus, message queue, network, or multi-core message-passingscheme.

The computer system also includes a main memory, for example, randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. Thesecondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive or aremovable storage drive. The removable storage drive may include afloppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a flashmemory, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or the like. The removablestorage drive reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit in awell-known manner. The removable storage unit may include a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to bythe removable storage drive. As will be appreciated by persons skilledin the relevant art, the removable storage unit includes a computerusable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/ordata.

The computer system (optionally) includes a display interface (which caninclude input and output devices such as keyboards, mice, etc.) thatforwards graphics, text, and other data from communicationinfrastructure (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on adisplay unit.

In alternative implementations, the secondary memory may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into the computer system. Such means may include, for example,the removable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such means mayinclude a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that foundin video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, PROM,or Flash memory) and associated socket, and other removable storageunits and interfaces which allow software and data to be transferredfrom the removable storage unit to computer system.

The computer system may also include a communication interface. Thecommunication interface allows software and data to be transferredbetween the computer system and external devices. The communicationinterface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernetcard), a communication port, a PCMCIA slot, and card, or the like.Software and data transferred via the communication interface may be inthe form of signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical,or other signals capable of being received by the communicationinterface. These signals may be provided to the communication interfacevia a communication path. Communication path carries signals, such asover a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, anintranet or the Internet, and may be implemented using wire or cable,fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link, or othercommunication channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removablestorage unit, removable storage unit, and a hard disk installed in thehard disk drive. The computer program medium and computer usable mediummay also refer to memories, such as main memory and secondary memory,which may be memory semiconductors (e.g., DRAMs, etc.) or cloudcomputing.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in themain memory and/or the secondary memory. The computer programs may alsobe received via the communication interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to implement the embodimentsas discussed herein, including but not limited to machine learning andadvanced artificial intelligence. In particular, the computer programs,when executed, enable the processor device to implement the processes ofthe embodiments discussed here. Accordingly, such computer programsrepresent controllers of the computer system. Where the embodiments areimplemented using software, the software may be stored in a computerprogram product and loaded into the computer system using the removablestorage drive, the interface, the hard disk drive, or the communicationinterface.

Moreover, embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Embodiments of the disclosure may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices.

Embodiments of the inventions also may be directed to computer programproducts comprising software stored on any computer useable medium. Suchsoftware, when executed in one or more data processing devices, causes adata processing device(s) to operate as described herein. Embodiments ofthe inventions may employ any computer-useable or readable medium.Examples of computer useable mediums include, but are not limited to,primary storage devices (e.g., any type of random access memory),secondary storage devices (e.g., hard drives, floppy disks, CD ROMS, ZIPdisks, tapes, magnetic storage devices, and optical storage devices,MEMS, nanotechnological storage device, etc.).

The preceding detailed description of exemplary embodiments of theinvention makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show theexemplary embodiment by way of illustration. While these exemplaryembodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilledin the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that otherembodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process claimsmay be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.Thus, the preceding detailed description is presented for purposes ofillustration only and not of limitation, and the scope of the inventionis defined by the preceding description and with respect to the attachedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for integrating virtual targets on asports field, the system comprising: a plurality of bay stations eachhaving a display positioned therein, the display configured to show agameplay environment; a range extending from the bay stations, the rangecomprising: a shared field of play of each of the bay stations, and aplurality of visual aids providing reference points for the shared fieldof play; and a range visualization system configured to provide avirtual target in the gameplay environment, wherein a characteristic ofthe virtual target is represented on the shared field of play by atleast one of the visual aids.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein thecharacteristic of the virtual target is a size, a height, a position, ora combination thereof of the virtual target.
 3. The system of claim 2wherein each of the visual aids is positioned above the shared field ofplay at one of a plurality of height intervals.
 4. The system of claim 1wherein each of the visual aids is positioned on a support pole or asegment of netting.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality ofvisual aids is represented in the gameplay environment by a plurality ofvirtual markers.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the visual markerscomprise a line intersecting the virtual target.
 7. The system of claim5 wherein each of the virtual markers has a color, a pattern, a width,or a combination thereof matching that of the corresponding visual aid.8. The system of claim 1 wherein the gameplay environment mirrors theshared field of play.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein the gameplayenvironment is completely virtualized.
 10. The system of claim 1 whereinthe range further comprises a physical target located on the sharedfield of play.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the physical targetprovides a reference point within the shared field of play for thevirtual target.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein all or a portion ofthe physical target is mobile.
 13. The system of claim 10 wherein therange visualization system is further configured to visualize thephysical target as the virtual target.
 14. The system of claim 1 whereinthe range visualization system is further configured to visualize asecond virtual target.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein the rangevisualization system is further configured to visualize a third virtualtarget.
 16. A method for integrating virtual targets on a sports field,the method comprising the steps of: positioning a plurality of visualaids about a field of play; mapping, using a range visualization system,the visual aids as a plurality of virtual markers within a gameplayenvironment; mapping, using the range visualization system, a virtualtarget within the gameplay environment, wherein a position of thevirtual target is represented on the shared field of play bycorresponding visual aids; and showing, using a display, the virtualtarget and the virtual markers in the gameplay environment.
 17. Themethod of claim 16 further comprising the step of altering an appearancefor each of the virtual markers when the corresponding visual aids donot represent the position of the virtual target.
 18. The method ofclaim 16 further comprising the step of removing all or some of theplurality of virtual markers from the gameplay environment based on aninput on the display.
 19. The method of claim 16 further comprising thestep of generating, using a computer, a recommended flight path of aball over the field of play to reach a physical position within therange that corresponds to the virtual target within the gameplayenvironment.
 20. The method of claim 16 further comprising updating aplayer scorecard on the display when a ball reaches the position of thevirtual target as represented on the shared field of play.